Subject:
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Re: How long will train 9v motors last?
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.trains
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Date:
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Mon, 22 Jan 2007 13:04:02 GMT
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Viewed:
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3665 times
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"Chris Phillips" <drvegetable@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:JC9n2r.94C@lugnet.com...
[ ... snipped ... ]
>
> On the other hand, our club has also run numerous weekend-long train shows
> with
> long(!) trains running at low speeds almost continuously for 7 or 8 hour
> days,
> and as far as I know we've never burnt out a single motor.
>
> So your mileage may vary. It may depend on the speed at which you run the
> motors, or it may help to swap out locomotives once or twice per day to
> give
> them a rest. You should definitely plan to turn off the power overnight
> if you
> can.
NCLTC has run 3 shows which have lasted longer than a month so we have some
experience with this. In addition to wear on the motors, you will find that
your bogies (in particular) and wheels will also show a fair amount of wear
and tear from running so much. I picked up some thin nylon washers from
Kevin Salm at BrickFest one year and would highly recommend them. Place
them on the bogie pin Doing just this will increase the life span of your
rolling stock. After a train has run for a while you will find a lot of
plastic dust under the bogies and wagon plates.
Back to the motors - a lot of what has already been posted is spot on - how
much of a load you are pulling, how long the trains run, etc. will all make
a difference. So will the layout. If your layout consists of long straight
runs with few curves, there is less stress on the motor. If your layout
meanders all over the place with lots of 90 (or more) degree turns, the load
on your motor will increase even with a short train.
We just completed a holiday layout which ran from Thanksgiving through the
15th of January (yes, I know I need to write it up). We had four train
loops running. I use wall timers (the kind you use for your lights when you
go on vacation) which have the option to turn something on and off several
times a day. Our layout was in a mall which was open from 8 AM - 6 PM so I
would have the trains turn on about 7:45 and off about 6:45. I would let
them run 2-3 hours and give them a 15 minute break. The staggered the
timers such that no more than one train was ever "resting". When we first
did this I didn't bother letting them rest but found that some of the
motors or controllers would go into thermal overload and essentially
overheat and shut off.
The only problem we had with the timers was the Mall security turned off the
power to our layout at the breaker which caused the timers to get out of
sync. This happened twice and once I figured out what was happening, wasn't
an issue any more.
I consider the motors we use for these shows as "lost" meaning they aren't
real dependable or they are dead. I have at least 6 dead motors from doing
3 shows. I only had two die but neither of them were brand new, they had
been used at previous shows. We have received a few dollars from the Mall
where our layout was which I have used to buy replacement motors (although I
have yet to see the money we were promised this year).
I really like the long exhibit shows, much more so than a GATS type show.
You can actually enjoy your layout and tweak things if the mood hits you.
Weekend train shows are chaos from start to finish and you never really get
to enjoy all of the work you have done.
Mike
--
Mike Walsh - mike_walsh at mindspring.com
http://blog.carolinatrainbuilders.com - My LEGO Blog
http://www.ncltc.cc - North Carolina LEGO Train Club
http://www.carolinatrainbuilders.com - Carolina Train Builders
http://www.bricklink.com/store.asp?p=mpw - CTB/Brick Depot
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: How long will train 9v motors last?
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| (...) Wall timers are a good simple idea - the sort with lots of little levers to turn the power on and off every fifteen minutes. I made my trains stop and start a few times every minute though. Not only does it give the motors an easy ride, it (...) (18 years ago, 22-Jan-07, to lugnet.trains)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: How long will train 9v motors last?
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| (...) NELUG set up a (URL) large, permanent layout for the See Science Center in Manchester, NH>. The layout has a few small trolleys that are running all day long, whenever the museum is open. I've heard reports that the motors are burning out at a (...) (18 years ago, 22-Jan-07, to lugnet.trains, FTX)
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